1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device for a sportsman, namely, a combined gun rest and armrest connected to a tripod for supporting the gun and the arm of the sportsman. The tripod on which combined gun rest and armrest is mounted is tiltable and rotatable.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Gun users frequently wait for long periods of time before their target appears and the appearance of the target can often be fleetingly brief. At the moment when precision shooting is required, the shooter needs to be shooting from the most beneficial and comfortable position.
In the past numerous gun supports have been invented and introduced to the market, including unipods, bipods and tripods. The gun supports utilizing tripods that were originally designed for photographic applications have been adapted with some success. The photographic tripods, equipped with any of a variety of tripod heads, typically have the ability to pan in a substantially horizontal plane, to tilt backward and forward and side-to-side, and to position vertically using a geared central crank column. Once suitably equipped, such tripods have specific characteristics adapted for the application described in each of the prior art examples set forth below.
One typical gun support for tripod mounting of the prior art is that of J. M. Mika et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,272,785, which describes a gun support in the form of an elongated channel on a platform with an opening therethrough for the trigger portion of the gun. Such a mounting, while providing for a secure gun support, does not provide for an arm rest. Mika et al. ""785 by its nature changes the environment of the trigger which affects the xe2x80x9cfeelxe2x80x9d of the gun. Additionally the disclosure provides for the platform to be strapped to the gun, and thereby complicating disengagement from the support under field conditions.
Another tripod-mounted support is the sharpshooters rifle rest of J. G. Felts, U.S. Pat. No. 6,044,747. Here the primary focus is on the shooter rather than the rifle. Felts ""747 provides the shooter with the requisite comfort through extensive armrests which along with rifle rests are attached to a mounting plate. The mounting plate, in turn, is tripod mounted and the assemblage creates a considerable array of gear to accompany the rifle into the field.
In Rather et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,347,740, a rifle and camera mount is described having a multi-functional variable position mechanism similar to the tripod heads mentioned above. The prior art development of Rather et al. ""740 brings together photography and hunting and enables the outdoorsman, on a case-by-case basis, to choose between the two. This device does not purport to physically support the shooter while awaiting the prey, but enables the shooter to capture by photography those other wildlife moments experienced during the wait.
The device of the present invention, as will be seen from the description which follows, overcomes the problems just described and exhibits the advantages provided hereinbelow.
A combined gun rest and armrest of the present invention includes an armrest which is attachable to a tripod. The armrest has a pair of elongated slots into which U-shaped gun rests are inserted and are laterally adjusted to support a gun. One of the gun rests is constructed to accommodate the forearm of the gun; and the other, the stock of the gun. The lateral adjustment of the gun rests enables the positioning thereof so as to have the center of gravity of the gun aligned with the tripod connection.
Upon placing the gun in the gun rests, the opening between the gun and the armrest enables the marksmen to assume the normal shooting position and provides unencumbered access to the trigger and the area surrounding the trigger. The device is constructed to be compatible with the normal physical range. However, in the cases outside the range, the gun rests may be raised or lowered accordingly. Once adjusted for a particular person and for a particular gun the settings are readily maintained for future use.
An object of the present invention is to provide a combined gun rest and armrest which is suitable for tripod mounting and is economical to manufacture.
Another object of the invention is to provide a tripod-mounted gun rest and armrest which is readily adjustable and easy to use.
A feature of the present invention is the light weight thereof and that the gun is readily lifted from the support.
This together with other objects and advantages will become apparent in the description which follows.